Good point. The irony is if the wood is well seasoned, less handling is necessary since it won't take as much to heat the home!
Just Curious...
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Good point. The irony is if the wood is well seasoned, less handling is necessary since it won't take as much to heat the home!
DianeB
Feeling the Heat
I have learned my lesson, will get mine in early and then not have to worry to much. Also have a moisture meter now so will check on delivery. Rather know a log was split in May versus a log was split in August. Because of fire box much smaller than what we have had in the past, we will probably resplit the larger pieces as we stack. I am finding the re-splitting fun. Almost like eating pistachios!
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Diane, you would be amazed at home much difference you'd see if you got it much earlier. Splitting in May and then burning in the fall is a bit to quick in my book unless you are burning soft maple. Other wood really likes more time.
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
I know most people around here have some wood delivered
They stack it and start burning it immeadiately. They don't know any better
nor do they care. One neighbor asked me why I am always collecting wood
when I have 8 stacks in the yard. I told him it isn't seasoned yet. He looked at me like I was from Mars.
They stack it and start burning it immeadiately. They don't know any better
nor do they care. One neighbor asked me why I am always collecting wood
when I have 8 stacks in the yard. I told him it isn't seasoned yet. He looked at me like I was from Mars.
I just posted this on another thread. My brother has a smoke dragon. He cuts wood ( Oak and Hickory ), throws it in a pile in his wood shed then burns it after one year of seasoning. Can't tell him it needs to season for 3 years. He cleans out his flew every 2 weeks. When I say something about burning his one year seasoned Oak, he says " it heats my house". I believe he thinks I'm extreme for having 12 cords of wood, stacked and covered, and that I season it for 3 years before using it.
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Locust Post
Minister of Fire
Swap him some of your 3 year seasoned wood for his oak and hickory in the dead of winter and check back in a couple weeks. Might open his eyes a bit. Course it might not too.
red oak
Minister of Fire
I am still using the Fisher Papa Bear that came with this house - bought the house in 2000. Over the years I can tell that I am using significantly less wood as when I started. The wood I'm burning now has been c/s/s for almost 2 years. When I first moved in I would cut the wood, split it, then burn it within a few weeks. Then I wanted to get it cut by the end of summer. Then I found this forum and have been working on getting years ahead and not looking back. The biggest difference to me, even more so than using less wood, is how hard I remember getting the fire going. I remember blowing on the fire for 10 minutes or more! And if I didn't have MAJOR coals throwing new wood in would just cause the fire to smolder for awhile. I don't want to ever go back to those days! Now I did keep warm in those days and didn't actually have that much creosote, but I burned that sucker hot and chewed through the wood for sure! So yes the pre-EPAs can keep you warm, but you'll use a lot more wood and it will be much more of a hassle.
blwncrewchief
Burning Hunk
Oh it would open his eyes for sure as soon as it lit up the chimney and the stove melted down from having the air open way too much way too long being use to burning that wood! I would actually recommend against this and consider it very dangerous.
HDRock
Minister of Fire
All I will say is, my smoke dragon , doesn't smoke much, if at all, when running it right with dry wood, but it is going to get replaced, and relocated to the, pole barn/shop
He's not lazy by any means. What he's doing works for him, rather right or wrong.
Kenster
Minister of Fire
My smoke dragon, a VC Vigilant, does a fantastic job of heating our 4000 square foot house. And now that I've been burning at least two year old splits (drying is accelerated here in hot, drought stricken Texas) the burning is better than ever. Next years wood is at least three years C/S/S and soon I'll be four and five years ahead. I have no plans EVER to replace the Vigilant. By the way, pretty much all I have to burn is oak and a wee bit of hickory occasionally.
Lumber-Jack
Minister of Fire
I benefit from having access to standing dead trees that are reliably seasoned (<20% MC). I have a EPA (non-cat) in the house and an old lopi smoke dragon in the shop. It's nice to be able to use the two stoves at the same time and compare how they burn with the same wood. I have tried burning not so seasoned wood in both, and I would say it comes down to that you notice the poor qualities of the unseasoned wood in the EPA stove more than in the smoke dragon. The modern EPA stove simply will not burn the unseasoned wood efficiently. You can't get the long, sustained, clean burns with unseasoned wood like you can with dry wood, and the inside of the stove and glass ends up black after burning unseasoned wood.
In the smokedragon stove I can't get those long, clean burns anyway, so I don't notice it so much, although I do notice that with the dry wood it tends to burn more completely, but unseasoned wood will leave large chunks of wood un-burned. In the smokedragon I always get dirty black glass anyway, even when burning dry wood, so there just isn't a lot of difference in that regard. As for the heat the stove throws off, unless the wood is totally green it's really a hard thing to quantify. I'm sure the drier wood throws off more heat, but in a cold shop with a roaring fire going, even if the wood contains a little more moisture, it still feels pretty good.
I do plan to upgrade the house stove someday, when I do the old? EPA stove from the house will go in the shop.
In the smokedragon stove I can't get those long, clean burns anyway, so I don't notice it so much, although I do notice that with the dry wood it tends to burn more completely, but unseasoned wood will leave large chunks of wood un-burned. In the smokedragon I always get dirty black glass anyway, even when burning dry wood, so there just isn't a lot of difference in that regard. As for the heat the stove throws off, unless the wood is totally green it's really a hard thing to quantify. I'm sure the drier wood throws off more heat, but in a cold shop with a roaring fire going, even if the wood contains a little more moisture, it still feels pretty good.
I do plan to upgrade the house stove someday, when I do the old? EPA stove from the house will go in the shop.
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